Late School Start This Fall Has Some Districts Petitioning

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - While students across Minnesota might be thinking about the approaching end of the school year, educators and administrators are thinking ahead to the start of the new school year.

Some districts are petitioning the Minnesota Department of Education to start school before Labor Day this year. The day after Labor Day is the state-mandated, traditional start to school.

But this year that falls on September 8, considered too late by some administrators. Eden Valley-Watkins Superintendent Mark Messman tells reporters a district survey finds most in favor of starting school August 31st.

School districts have expressed their desire to make their own decisions regarding their calendars, instead of the state mandating start dates.